La Villa Comunale di Napoli occupies reclaimed land between Riviera di Chiaia and the sea. This park, established by Ferdinand IV in 1778, was modelled on the Tuileries; a regulation from 1826 prohibited access "to those who dressed indecently, to servants in livery, to people dressed in tattered clothes." Following Unification, the park became a site for public monuments; it was extended in 1900 to form a new coastal road. Current projections suggest that within 100 years rising seas will flood the park. In Recollecting Villa Comunale, the memorial function of the park is re-imagined for this ever-changing coast. Fragments from the city, reconstructed from archives, tracings, and redrawings, are swept into the park. Memories captured in stories and photographs are preserved as new programmes. Peter Robb's Street Fight in Naples, published in 2010, acts as a guide. It invokes hillsides with lemon and mulberry trees now lost beneath the Quartieri Spagnoli, and streets full of the famous cloth which led Arabic traders to name Naples the 'City of Linen'. Building on Robb's recollections, the coastal edge at Chiaia is refigured and re-programmed. A performance venue provides a site for a revived song contest. Lemon and mulberry groves supply local producers and provide shade. A new harbour (re)collects workshops for fishing boats, spaces for mending nets, a canteen, and a market to support sustainable fishing. A once-beloved restaurant, Pasquales, provides a venue for families to meet returning fisherman. Together, these projects imagine a new form of coastal development for Naples, which accommodates fluctuations, loss, and recollection.
Audai Hassouna
Project description
Basins form throughout the new landscape, creating space for lemon and mulberry trees. The fishermen become renowned Tonnara specialists, a specific branch of bluefin tuna fishing known for their ancient, sustainable methods and large boats, which carry nets spanning up to 3km. The boats serve as sea walls once the fishermen surround the fishing area, creating an arena where fishermen jump in to the sea to wrestle the adult fish, leaving the younger ones to escape.
Perspective Collages
Ristorante Pasquale sectional model
Ristorante Pasquale
The kitchen and flexible market space [02] are situated on the northern side of the building, providing space to sort and prepare fish [01] for diners and buyers. The building descends to the water on the southern side, creating dining spaces with views of the sea, and a platform where visitors can observe the assembly of fishing nets. A floor above houses a coffee house [03], enabling couples and small groups to enjoy a private view of the Gulf.
The fishermen's guild
The fishermen’s guild is a short distance west of Pasquale’s. It provides a space for mending boats up to 30m in length. The ground floor hosts the hull repair workshop, storage rooms [02], changing and shower rooms [07], while the first-floor is communal space [06] and offices. Tonnara fishing boats can employ up to 50 people. It is deemed a sustainable method of tuna fishing, one of the species most affected by overfishing and now vigorously protected.
Audai Hassouna
